THE boss of John Lewis cites its ownership by employees as the key reason for the department store’s success as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Boss of John Lewis Andy Street says the firm has always been able to adapt[PA]

While the member-owned Co-operative Group is experiencing the worst crisis in its history John Lewis is going from strength to strength and expanding at home and abroad.

A series of events will be staged at stores around the country next month to mark its beginnings as a draper’s shop in 1864 and the company hopes to generate extra sales from the launch of new ranges devised for the occasion.

As the debate about the future of the mutual Co-op rages managing director Andy Street insisted John Lewis’s ownership structure would not change. He said: “It has been hugely advantageous for us. Our partners are committed to the long-term success of the organisation because that brings them their own success.”

The decision by John Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, to establish employee ownership in 1929 was a critical moment in the firm’s history and had guaranteed that staff were adaptable to change, added Street.

“Adaptabilty is behind our success and I would argue our ownership model is the key to it,” he said. “A great example of that would be how we have embraced new technology and the internet. It is a bit surprising that John Lewis should emerge as Britain’s leading omni-channel retailer.”

Adaptabilty is behind our success and I would argue our ownership model is the key to it

John Spedan Lewis

John Lewis died in 1928 and Spedan, who died in 1963, told a BBC interview in 1957: “It soon became clear to me that my father’s success had been due to his trying constantly to give very good value to people who wished to exchange their money for his merchandise.

“But it also became clear to me that the business would have grown further, and my father’s life would have been much happier, if he had done the same for those who wished to exchange their work for his money.”

Celebrations start on May 3 and will include an exhibition at its flagship store in London’s Oxford Street where it will recreate the Victorian cobbled streets where it all began, while the rooftop will also be opened to visitors.

Designer Orla Kiely has produced her first menswear range for the store, while other labels that made exclusive items include Jaeger, Ted Baker, Barbour, Silvercross and Hoover.

With its famous slogan “never knowingly undersold”, John Lewis has 31 department stores and 10 homeware shops, employing 91,000 staff.

Sister company Waitrose supermarkets joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1937 and has 315 shops.

Street said John Lewis’s approach to foreign expansion was to take “baby steps”. Its website sells to customers in 33 countries and it has a wholesale agreement in South Korea.

In June it will open a store at Heathrow airport in a move seen as a sign of intent to expand its horizons overseas.